We know potatoes and usually love them. We know beets and usually hate them. But many of other root vegetables remain a mystery. Do you know the difference between rutabagas and turnips? (If you don't, read this post.) How about parsnips? Are you familiar with those?

Here's what I want you to do for this Thanksgiving dinner: Buy an assortment of root vegetables, including the enigmatic turnips and rutabagas. Roast them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper until they release their sugars and caramelize. Then drizzle them with pomegranate molasses, a uniquely tangy syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar. Serve them to your guests, but don't tell them about the pomegranate molasses. Then wait for someone to say, "Wow! These are delicious. May I have some more?"

Pomegranate molasses is most commonly found in Middle Eastern specialty stores. You can also buy it online. If you can't find any, then you can make your own pomegranate molasses. Elise of Simply Recipes shows you how.

2. Drizzle pomegranate molasses over the vegetables, and stir until well coated. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons rosemary and stir gently. Roast for another 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Taste. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Toss in 3 tablespoons pomegranate arils and stir gently. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with remaining teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary and remaining 1 tablespoon pomegranate arils before serving.

Mmm, roasted root vegetables are delicious! I tried some for the first time at Epcot's Food & Wine festival last year, and loved them! I've never heard of pomegranate molasses before, but I would like to try it. This dish sounds amazing and simple to make. I'm bookmarking this for Thanksgiving! :)

Sounds delish. Roasting is so awesome for adding flavor to just about any veggie. The molasses sounds like a nice addition.I just tried roasting broccoli with amazing results. http://eatlittleeatbig.blogspot.com/2010/10/recipe-for-overnight-oatmeal-three-days.html

Haha I am definitely the only person at thanksgiving who goes wild over rutabaga but that's because I'm slightly odd and have a definitely unnatural obsession with root veggies. I love the idea of having the tart and tangy molasses spruce up the blander veggies. Delicious.

This looks so good! We always have a big plate of roasted veggies as a side dish on Thanskgiving; usually we use the ones you listed here minus sweet potatoes (those are their own dish!) and we add cippolini onions and baby patty pan squash for color. I love the pomegranate addition!